The six reasons fans are now convinced the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight was a fix: from a ‘fight script leak’ to heavier gloves, betting bans and secret in-ring signals

YouTuber boxer Jake Paul’s victory over former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has sparked some backlash, especially considering the 31-year age gap between the fighters.

Paul, 27, won the match via unanimous points decision at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – the largest NFL stadium in the US.

The fight, which was watched by millions on Netflix, was marred by controversy, with boos ringing through the stadium in the final two rounds as spectators were unimpressed by the lack of action.

The fight was dressed up as a professional boxing fight, but many in the sport were left uneasy.

Despite Tyson being an all-time great boxer, you can’t ignore the fact that he’s a 58-year-old grandfather taking on a 27-year-old gym jock.

The build-up was dominated by allegations of fixation by past and present boxers, while a fake script also circulated before the fight got underway.

Although Paul maintained the legitimacy of the fight during pre-match press conferences, he frustrated fans by admitting that he had failed to knock out Tyson on purpose.

The final round saw few punches thrown, with Paul landing 78 times and Tyson connecting with his rival just 18 times.

Jake Paul’s victory over former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has sparked some backlash

Betting is prohibited in the US

Alarmingly, several US states have banned betting on the Paul vs. Tyson fight on Friday night.

Although the fight was professionally sanctioned, Paul and Tyson fought in eight two-minute rounds, as opposed to the regular three-minute versions.

The pair also wore 14oz gloves instead of the usual 10oz gloves worn by heavyweights.

According to ESPN, seven of the 38 U.S. states that have legalized sports betting have banned fight betting for that very reason.

New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado are said to be among the states that would not take bets, with the New York State Gaming Commission saying they were ineligible to take bets due to the “non-traditional rules.”

Colorado and Pennsylvania betting chiefs agreed with that sentiment, with the former not citing all fighters who were professionally ranked as another reason.

Pennsylvania also justified their decision to ban in-fight gambling by pointing to the shorter number of rounds.

“Given the totality of factors, the decision was made in the best interest of the gambling public not to allow betting in Pennsylvania,” the source said.

Of the 31 states that offered betting on the match, some expressed advance concerns about the potential consequences if both men treated the match as more of an exhibition-style event than a competitive fight.

Jake Paul bows to former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson during their fight in Texas

Accusations of ‘fixing’ of past and present boxers

Former world champion Carl Froch claimed there was ‘something in the contract’ that would stop Tyson from ‘even trying to hurt Paul’.

He claimed Tyson could never win, telling GB News before the fight: ‘I think it’s a scripted fight and will last three or four rounds.

“Jake Paul will definitely win; Tyson may start well, but then he falls over.

‘Paul can’t lose. It’s in the contract, he can’t lose. He’s a useless w****r.’

Meanwhile, a boxer on the undercard of the Netflix boxing event also claimed the fight was ‘fixed’.

Sara Bailey, the WBA women’s light flyweight world champion who supported Lucas Bahdi on the undercard, told ES NEWS: ‘Yes, it’s resolved, I’m sorry.’ Bahdi himself commented on Paul’s performance, saying: ‘I think so [Paul] I took it easy.’

Former world champion Carl Froch claimed there was ‘something in the contract’ that would stop Tyson from ‘even trying to hurt Paul’

Paul ‘signals’ to Tyson

Some viewers claim to have pinpointed the moment that proves the fight was resolved

“Jake Paul signals Mike to take it easy,” one fan wrote on X in a post that included a clip of Tyson landing a chin shot.

Paul responded to the punch by sticking out his tongue and taunting Tyson, as if to say the punch didn’t bother him. It’s something Paul has done in previous fights, and even outside the ring the former YouTube star has made a habit of sticking his tongue out.

But according to these conspiracy theorists, Tyson was “signaling.”

Spokespeople for Most Valuable Promotions declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com. A Netflix spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jake Paul sticks his tongue out at Mike Tyson after taking a chin shot during his victory

At the end of the match, Tyson was hugged by Paul and the two briefly exchanged thoughts

Fake script leaked prior to the fight

A fake script for the Dallas brawl made the rounds on social media, adding fuel to the fire over whether the fight was resolved.

A user on

The Mail must highlight the suspicious nature of the document, shared by an anonymous account with 204 followers.

Not only did it claim to script how the crowd would react at certain moments – implying that everyone would have to join in – but it also claimed that a cut would open above Tyson’s eye at the signal in the fourth round.

Despite the script being unfounded – and not coming to fruition – it provoked a strong response from boxing fans.

A fake script for the Dallas brawl made the rounds on social media, adding fuel to the fire over whether the fight was resolved

Mike Tyson’s former coach questions the legitimacy of the fight

Iron Mike’s former coach Teddy Atlas also expressed concern about whether the fight had been resolved.

He told The Sun before the fight: ‘My only question… is it real? Maybe, I hope so.

“But will there be an honest attempt to do what always wants to be done, to destroy that guy, to knock him out?”

Paul admits he didn’t want to knock out Tyson

Paul claimed after the fight that he deliberately avoided knocking out Tyson.

The former world heavyweight lost on points, but played the full eight rounds against the YouTuber boxer.

Asked whether he didn’t want to go for the knockout blow, Paul said afterwards: ‘There was a point where I thought he wasn’t really pushing back.

“So I don’t know if he’s tired. I can just tell his age was showing a bit.

“I just have so much respect for him and that war thing between us after he punched me, I wanted to be aggressive, take him down and knock him out.

‘But that disappeared as the rounds went on.

“I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone who didn’t need to be hurt.”

MailOnline has contacted Most Valuable Promotions about the ‘fixing’ allegations.